Consciousness studies: Table of theories
Theories of Consciousness Some recent scientific theories of consciousness are tabulated below. The extent to which they account for the phenomenon of consciousness is shown. It is remarkable that many of the theories are consistent with one another. As in the tale of the 'blind men and the elephant' some of the theories seem to describe the trunk, some the tail etc. but they all seem to be part of the same elephant! The convergence of the theories is shown in the illustration below: Table of theories A = Model of observer's view B = Model of Anaesthetic Action in thalamus C = Explanation of Libet's data D = Explanation of unconscious but active cerebral cortex E = Explanation of knowing you know F = Explanation of non-computability G = Binding (simultaneous processing of relevant data) This material has been imported fom the wikibook "Consciousness"http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Consciousness_studiesunder the GNU Free Documentation License. H = Extended present I = Quantum state vector reduction Name Author/Ref A B C D E F G H I Microconsciousness Zeki, S., & Bartel, A. (1999) Toward a Theory of Visual Consciousness. Consciousness & Cognition, 8, 225-259. N N N N N N Y N N Geometrical Phenomenalism Green, A. (2003) Geometrical phenomenalism Y Y Y Y Y ? Y Y Y ORCH-R Hameroff, S & Penrose, R. 1989 N N N N N Y Y N Y Quantum Brain Model Ricciardi, L. M. and H. Umezawa, 1967. Brain physics and many-body problems, Kibernetik 4, 44-48. http://arXiv.org/abs/q-bio/0309009 N N N N N ? Y N Y Many Minds Donald, M. 1990. Quantum Theory and the Brain. Proc R Soc Lond. A427 43-93. http://xxx.lanl.gov/PS_cache/quant-ph/pdf/9904/9904001.pdf Y N N N ? ? Y Y Y A = Model of observer's view B = Model of Anaesthetic Action in thalamus C = Explanation of Libet's data D = Explanation of unconscious but active cerebral cortex E = Explanation of knowing you know F = Explanation of non-computability G = Binding (simultaneous processing of relevant data) H = Extended present I = Quantum state vector reduction Name Author/Ref A B C D E F G H I Dual-Time Supercausality King, C.C. 1989. Physics Essays 2/2 128-151. http://www.math.auckland.ac.nz/~king/Preprints/Transup.htm N N N N Y Y Y ? Y Spin Mediated Consciousness Hu, H. & Wu, M. 2002. Spin-Mediated Consciousness Theory: An Approach Based On Pan-Protopsychism. http://cogprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/archive/00002579/ N N N N N ? Y N Y Quantum Theory of Consciousness (synaptic cleft) Walker, E.W. 1998. the Noetic Journal, 1, 100-107, 1998 http://users.erols.com/wcri/CONSCIOUSNESS.html N N N N N N Y N Y A = Model of observer's view B = Model of Anaesthetic Action in thalamus C = Explanation of Libet's data D = Explanation of unconscious but active cerebral cortex E = Explanation of knowing you know F = Explanation of non-computability G = Binding (simultaneous processing of relevant data) H = Extended present I = Quantum state vector reduction Name Author/Ref A B C D E F G H I Global Workspace Theory Baars, B. 1988. A cognitive theory of consciousness. Cambridge University Press, New York http://www.ceptualinstitute.com/genre/baars/baarsBrain.htm Y Y Y Y N N Y N N Topological Geometrodynamics (TGD) Inspired Theory of Consciousness Pitkänen, M. 199?. Topological Geometrodynamics http://www.physics.helsinki.fi/~matpitka/mainpage.html Y ? N N Y Y Y Y Y The Conscious Electromagnetic Field Theory McFadden, J.J. 2002 http://www.surrey.ac.uk/qe/cemi.htm Y ? N N N N Y N ? A = Model of observer's view B = Model of Anaesthetic Action in thalamus C = Explanation of Libet's data D = Explanation of unconscious but active cerebral cortex E = Explanation of knowing you know F = Explanation of non-computability G = Binding (simultaneous processing of relevant data) H = Extended present I = Quantum state vector reduction Name Author/Ref A B C D E F G H I Real Time Consciousness Smythies, J. 2003.Journal of Consciousness Studies 10:3 47-56 http://www.imprint.co.uk/pdf/smythies.pdf Y N N N Y ? Y Y ? Consciousness as memory Gerald Edelman's theory Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 April 29; 100(9): 5520–5524 N N N N N N N N N